tooth and nail

adverb

: with every available means : all out
fight tooth and nail

Examples of tooth and nail in a Sentence

I'll fight tooth and nail to win the finals.
Recent Examples on the Web Unfortunately, under the status quo, health insurance companies routinely block unions and employers from their plans’ claims information, fighting us tooth and nail to keep it secret. Kevin Lyons, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2024 The agency was fighting Harvey Weinstein tooth and nail. Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024 While Kansas City battled the Buffalo Bills tooth and nail this past weekend, Baltimore easily defeated the Houston Texans, 34-10, to advance. Tim Schwartz, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024 Incumbents with market power fight tooth and nail to prevent interoperability and portability. Christian Catalini, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Even that level of success requires authors to fight tooth and nail and trade every possible favor as the marketing budgets at publishers, including the big ones, continue to dwindle. TIME, 12 Feb. 2024 Israel is pressing ahead with its Gaza campaign and staring down the threat of Hezbollah’s possible entry into the war, while Ukraine — continuing to fight an unprovoked Russian invasion tooth and nail — is beginning to suffer from a shortage of shells in a grinding war of artillery exchanges. The Editors, National Review, 8 Feb. 2024 The Walking Dead veteran, who's been fighting tooth and nail to land a spot on the series, is seen in a black suit and blue tie next to Urban's Billy Butcher. Nick Romano, EW.com, 12 Apr. 2023 These girls are fighting tooth and nail to occupy the few seats that are there, leaving their homes, walking for miles and miles and miles. Samantha Barry, Glamour, 13 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tooth and nail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tooth and nail was in 1550

Dictionary Entries Near tooth and nail

Cite this Entry

“Tooth and nail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tooth%20and%20nail. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tooth and nail

adverb
: as hard as one can
fighting tooth and nail
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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